Not Dark Yet is the 27th entry in Peter Robinson’s fabulous Inspector Banks series. I’ve read each and everyone and couldn’t wait to pick up this latest.

Not Dark Yet picks up where the last book left off. We met Zelda in the 25th book, Careless Love. She worked with law-enforcement to identify those in the sex trafficking trade, that she herself survived. She moved to Eastvale and has found a partner and new life within Banks' circle. But for Zelda, she feels like she has unfinished business with her past.

Banks and his team have business to attend to as well - there's been a double murder at a luxury home. The Albanian mafia may have been responsible - and a series of covertly filmed videos that add another layer to the case.

The plotting in Robinson's books is always intricately woven. Seemingly disparate threads are slowly but expertly woven together. The conclusion is always satisfying, but not always what the reader might have imagined. The plots ring true, often taking inspiration from current social issues and headlines.

Banks has always had a strong moral compass,- but it doesn't always fit into the legal parameters of the department. Indeed, he makes some interesting choices in Not Yet Dark - and I can't say I disagree with them. Regular supporting characters Annie and Gerry are back. Annie has always been a favorite of mine and Gerry has really grown on me.

Inspector Banks books are meant to be savored. The story moves along well, but at a thoughtful pace that allows the reader to ruminate along with Alan. I enjoy his honest self contemplation and his love of music. (I often search out his playlists) He seems world weary in this latest - I hope it doesn't herald the end of Banks....

Another excellent addition to this series.

There is nothing as satisfying to me as sinking into the newest installment of a favorite top-tier crime series.

This outstanding addition to the DCI Alan Banks series, (#27), delivers everything you would expect from this author, (whose characters just keep getting better with age) and at the same time, introduces a bit of a wistful and nostalgic tone that makes me wonder if changes are afoot in this series for Banks (who at this point, has seen many of his cronies off into retirement).

If so that would be sad.

DCI Alan Banks is a fabulous, complex, and compassionate character - an odd-duck British detective who is a passionate lover of music (a multitude of genres, but always best on vinyl), a bit of a wise-guy, and a proud father of two young adults (each of them moving on and away with the next stages of their lives). Banks, at this point in the series single again, is now given to “dark and lonely” contemplations over a glass or two of red wine (sometimes whiskey), at home alone in his gravel-fronted cottage, wondering if fighting crime can really form the meaningful substance of an entire life.

In a bit of new twist, in this book Banks’s detecting forms only one of the three main threads running in parallel that interleave to form this story.

Banks, with the help of his NCA and international contacts, comes up against pure evil as he pursues the killer of a notorious villain with ties to sex-trafficking and drugs in deep affiliation with the Albanian mob.

Meanwhile, the rest of Bank’s core team, DC Gerry Masterson and DI Annie Cabbot follow their own inquiries (leading to several clever plot twists and turns) after the discovery of the drugging and rape of a young girl.

The final thread re-introduces beautiful Zelda, a mysterious figure who we know to be running from a past full of “deeds that haunted her”, leaving her to wonder if she could ever “remake herself into a decent normal human being”. As we have seen before, (and although we get to know more of Zelda’s background in this novel) Zelda and Banks clearly have unfinished business.

The plot is complex, each thread interesting and engaging in its own right, and in typical Peter Robinson fashion, all three threads weave together beautifully into a grand finale that is oddly satisfying as well as (typical of good series form) tantalizingly suggestive of things to come.

I can’t wait to read the next edition of this wonderful series.

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance review copy of this novel. All thoughts presented are my own.

<i>Not Dark Yet<i/> is a murder mystery in the continuing series of Detective Alan Banks. Banks is a detective near his retirement who finds himself becoming disillusioned with his life and his career. <i>Not Dark Yet</i> was the 27th installment in The Inspector Banks series written by Peter Robinson.

The story begins with Banks and his team investigating a case where two people who are found brutally murdered after a house party. In their investigation they discover several hidden cameras which they hope will expose the murderer. Instead they discover yet another crime committed around the time of the same party. In the meantime, Banks's friend Zelda travels to resolve some issues she has from her childhood in Moldova. We learn more about her plans to deal the people from her past who haunt her still.

Bob Dylan sings in his song “Not Dark Yet”
<i>… my sense of humanity has gone down the drain. Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain… it’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there. <i/>
Zelda’s story runs parallel to and expands upon this song.

Although in general I like this book I have a very difficult time with the beginning section because I really don’t understand who these characters are and how they link together. The murders occur right away and they start talking about the relationships between people on the investigation teams as if we know them well. We then jump to Zelda and her exploits in Moldova as if we know who she is and what has happened to her in the past. For this reason, I find a major part of this book confusing and I don't feel this is a standalone novel. I am sure if I read the other 26 books in the series these issues will all be clarified. But I don’t think I will.

I enjoy the character development of Banks. The emotional strife he deals with is well described and elicits empathy with the reader. In the same way, with Zelda, we slowly see the unfolding of her past history and how this impacts how she behaves now. Although she has a murderous way of dealing with her issues, we can’t help but like her.
Despite the fact I have a difficult time with the beginning, the story is fast moving, very interesting and complex. The reveal itself isn't necessarily a twist but it is complex enough to maintain the readers interest.

I recommend this story to particularly fans of Peter Robinson and this series, but also anyone that likes a good murder mystery. First time readers of this series have to be patient, but the story itself is fairly fast moving and interesting. I give it up four on five. I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me a digital copy of this story. I have provided this review voluntarily.

In Not Dark Yet, Police Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are investigating a double murder of a corrupt developer and his butler as well as a possible rape. The developer is linked to the Albanian mob which places Zelda, the victim of sex trafficking, high on the list of suspects. As Banks investigates the murders, Annie and the rest of his team work to identify the rape victim and it soon becomes clear the two cases are linked. Banks is sure Zelda is not involved but her strange behaviour after she returns from Croatia is hard to ignore. And then she disappears.

Peter Robinson is one of my favourite writers of the mystery genre in general and police procedurals in particular and Not Dark Yet is an example of why. It is, as always, well-written and well-plotted and if it is more violent and darker than earlier books, it is also just as intelligent with characters who age and grow with each book. And, of course, there are the usual music references, everything from classical to classic rock including the title which, if you're wondering, is from a Dylan song. A fine addition to a great series.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley & Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

Police Superintendent Alan Banks and his team of detectives are investigating a double murder at a posh residence. The victims are a shady property developer and his majordomo. The murders were vicious, one of the victims was disemboweled and his body thrown into a swimming pool. The police suspect the killers are some of the developer's Albanian gangland allies. This storyline continues one that starts in an earlier book in the Banks series and hopefully brings it to a close. Getting to that point however is an adventure for Banks and he faces extreme physical danger which he only narrowly escapes.

There are developments on the personal side for Banks as well. His daughter (finally) marries and his son, a successful musician, retires from his band. He is at peace with his personal life. Things seem to be winding down for Banks's career too. Is retirement from the police far off?

This is the 27th book in the series of police procedural crime novels and a worthy entry to the lineup. It is grittier than earlier ones: the villains are particularly nasty evil people. Britain has changed and not for the better; there's even some veiled unfavourable references to Brexit and its consequences. All in all, it's a tough read with plenty of gratuitous violence. Despite that, fans of the series will likely enjoy it.

A few nits. The endless musical references throughout the book can stand to be culled. Similarly, a slew of police-related acronyms (PACE, ANPR) could be explained for those readers unfamiliar with English police procedure.

I requested and received a complementary advance reader's copy of the eBook from the publisher Penguin Random House Canada via Netgalley.

Another great book by Peter Robinson. The Banks series moves between almost cozy mysteries to all-out thrillers. This, and the previous two in the series, fall squarely into the thriller realm. Not a seat of your pants, artificially coerced thriller. But a careful examination of characters pushed to a limit.
The past three novels have formed a kind of trilogy. Although you could read any of them alone, together they form a cohesive whole that tell an even deeper story. The sections focusing on Zelda feel very different in scope than previous Robinson novels. And yet, at the same time, they are very much a Robinson novel. In that the dilemmas, the story, and the twists, are all based on character.
It will be a sad day when Banks eventually retires.

I've been a Peter Robinson fan since Gallow's View, very much loving the Inspector Alan Banks novels. Over the years Banks has changed, as characters do in such a long-running series. Unfortunately, Not Dark Yet is the culmination of the changes that have been happening for quite some time in these books. I'm sad to say that most of the interesting police procedural work now is from the point of view of DI Annie Cabbot and DC Gerry Masterson, with Banks mostly on the sidelines.
Not Dark Yet continues the story of Zelda, from the previous novel Many Rivers to Cross. I wasn't in love with Zelda in that book, and I care even less about her in this one. I don't find her particularly interesting which, for a character with such a traumatic past, I would expect I'd feel mostly sympathy. Also, for someone caught in the dark world she has inhabited, she seems incredibly naive about her captors. They are ruthless, international thugs with a wealthy clientele and the resources to track anyone and pay off the police for information, like the tapes from street cameras, especially when one of their own, high-ranking in the underworld, is murdered. Zelda should know that. Her current situation and actions became unrealistic for me quickly. And with Banks barely involved with that case, and mostly hands-off regarding the other case which Annie and Gerry are in charge of—and they are incredibly competent detectives—, Banks now reads like a man who should retire so he can listen to his music while imbibing his favorite alcoholic beverage and fantasizing as he falls in love with every attractive woman who crosses his path. I suspect it's time for Banks to retire in the series, or, retire the series. Turn the focus on Annie and Gerry, with Banks being a consultant with research benefits. This particular book had so little in the way of his action until he became a victim himself, and so much filler by reiterating what we already know, that I, for one, will hesitate to read the next book. I felt similarly about the last book but out of love of the series, gave it a 4*, cutting the author quite a bit of slack. Now I might just ignore the next book in this long-running series of 27 novels and 6 short stories and novellas starring Inspector Banks. It's not surprising that the series feels a bit tired. I'm giving Not Dark Yet a 3* when, if I put aside my sentimentality, it would be 2*.